I’ve been asked about waterkefir, so I thought I’d write a post about it.

A lot of people have heard of milk kefir, but I confess I had never heard of either until a few months ago.

So what is kefir and what do you do with it?

Image via Wikipedia

Water Kefir, also known as Tibicos, Tibi, Japanese water crystals or California Bees is a culture of bacteria and yeast held in a polysaccharide matrix created by the bacteria. Sounds yummy, doesn’t it?

Actually, it doesn’t taste of anything much on its own and looks like a load of little white granules, but by making a Water Kefir drink, it becomes a delicious sweet, sometimes fizzy, probiotic drink, packed with nutrients. Sounds yummier now, eh?

If you want to know more about the substance itself, have a look here.

If you want to know what to do with it, keep reading:

To make Water Kefir:

Take a Mason or Kilner jar and clean it thoroughly (I like to sterilize mine too, just to be on the safe side)

Spoon 2 teaspoons of Kefir grains into the jar and fill with clean water (filtered or spring if you can get it.)

Add 2 teaspoons of sugar, or a substitute*

Mix it up and close the jar. Leave for a few days, “feeding” the kefir some more sugar each day.

The more you “feed” the grains (don’t overdo it – a teaspoonful a day is enough!) the stronger it gets. After several days it can become fizzy, which is a nice alternative to carbonated drinks. It will even become very mildly alcoholic, eventually, but don’t get too excited, 2% is about as strong as you’ll manage!

This is not an exact science. Taste the water to determine whether you want to drink it. It should not be overly sweet. It can take time to make it just how you like it, but you can enjoy drinking all the experiments.

To drink, simply drain all the water out into a sieve or muslin and use the grains again.

They will multiply and before you know it, you’ll have several jars on the go and you’ll be begging friends to take them off you! You can eat excess grains if you prefer!

*Sugar. Obviously, not everyone wants to use refined sugar, even though it is the kefir “eating” it and not you, but some alternatives are:

I haven’t eaten actual cheese for decades and don’t miss it at all, but as a vegan I have sometimes enjoyed a dairy-free alternative to cheese. It’s certainly a useful thing to have in the fridge, turning a simple salad into something a bit more interesting and nutritious and providing a great filling for a raw (or even almost-raw) sandwich.

Ingredients:

Method:

Blend the nuts and water together until you have a smooth paste.

Add the powder from the probiotic capsules and mix in thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into a nut milk bag or a piece of muslin and place in a sieve, over a bowl. Place a plate on the top and a weight to squeeze the excess liquid out. I used a fairly full jar of coconut oil which seemed heavy enough.

Leave at room temperature for 24-48 hours. It’s a good idea to place a cloth over the whole thing so that no dust or unwelcome flying insects get in.

After 24-48 hours, unwrap the mixture and place it into a clean bowl. Add the salt, yeast and lemon juice and stir everything in.

Now pour the mixture into a ring mould. I put mine on top of a non-stick dehydrator sheet (on a DH tray) and placed it in the dehydrator for 24 hours to dry out a little and get a crust. Then I placed it in the fridge, where it lives whilst it is being eaten.

You can just put it straight into the fridge without dehydrating if you are in a hurry or don’t want a crust.

It’s delicious and can be customised with herbs, onion, garlic… the list is limitless!

Equipment:

Method:

Soak the sunflower seeds for a few hours to soften them and release the enzymes.

Chop the onion into tiny pieces. You can use the food processor for this if you prefer. Place the onion in a bowl and set aside.

Blend the sunflower seeds with water and oil to a smooth puree.

Add the sunflower puree to the onion and mix in well.

Add the chia or flax seeds and stir in thoroughly.

Pour the mixture onto a dehydrator sheet (non-stick) and spread it out to about 1/2 inch or 1 cm thickness.

Score into slices (I use a pizza cutter) and dehydrate on 115 degrees Fahrenheit, turning the slices off the non-stick sheet when they are firm enough and continue drying until the onion bread is the right texture (approx 24 hours.)

I usually cut my bread into triangles and get 8 slices out of this mixture. You can scale the ingredients up or down to vary the quantity.

Luckily, Mr H should be able to pick me some up at work tonight, but meanwhile… what can I put in my green smoothie? (I’ve taken to making sure I get a couple of pints of green smoothie every day because I feel better on it.)

Well, disaster averted because I have some standby Wheatgrass Powder; not as good as the fresh stuff, but not a bad substitute.

Wheatgrass powder is 21% protein, 22% carbohydrate and only 2% fat. It has lots of fibre and also contains plenty of magnesium and zinc, as well as a bit of sodium.

I made this delicious quick smoothie (which didn’t even need straining)

Equipment

Ingredients

Method

Place almonds in food processor and process for several minutes.

If the food processor is powerful enough, it should eventually form nut butter, but I had to add a drop of help oil to get the blending underway. Finally, when you have a smooth butter, add salt and agave (optional)

The weather here in the South of England is unseasonably clement and I can’t help but start thinking of Spring. My balcony is looking sad and in need of attention and I’m itching to get out there and start planting up my greens.

To get me in the mood and sustain all that activity, I’m going to make some of these biscuits, which just sing “summer” every time.